Daily Archives: September 10, 2010

This campaign is being orchestrated and funded by the Open Society Institute (OSI), the political arm of billionaire hedge-fund manager George Soros. According to a study released this week by the American Justice Partnership, OSI has spent at least $45.4 million to promote the so-called merit selection system and reduce the influence of citizens and their elected representatives when it comes to picking judges.

Evansville Courier & Press (AP): “A federal judge on Friday suspended a law limiting campaign contributions in Kentucky school board races to $100, making candidates in those races eligible for the $1,000 cap from individual contributors allowed in other races.”

Sofia News Agency: “While wedding bells may be ringing daily in Cyprus, in Bulgaria it is more a case of ‘I don’t', where marriage rates are the second lowest in the Europe Union at 3.6%, Eurostat figures show.”

Pink News: “Members of the European Parliament have called for action to ensure gay couples in marriages and civil partnerships are recognised across the continent. While EU member states are required to simplify entry and residence for couples in recognised relationships and the directive does not mention gender, it does not require states to explicitly demand that countries must recognise gay couples in marriages or civil partnerships.”

Fox News / Live Shots: “Two former Planned Parenthood employees-turned-whistleblowers have made stunning allegations regarding the abortion provider’s accounting practices. In a case now pending in federal court P. Victor Gonzalez alleges that he saw millions in fraudulent overbilling to state and federal governments when he worked as Chief Financial Officer for Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles . . .’” | ACLJ: Victory Against Planned Parenthood Stands

Concurring Opinions: “It’s not surprising, but it is a little sad, to report that the judicial clerkship hiring plan is on its last legs. The plan, as you may recall, organized hiring of clerks by prohibiting schools from sending materials before a certain date (the day after Labor day) and asking judges not to call to schedule and then hold interviews for a week and change (this year, September 13 and 16th, respectively) . . .”

CNSNews: “The U.S. was slow to take seriously the threat posed by homegrown radicals and the government has failed to put systems in place to deal with the growing phenomenon, according to a new report compiled by the former heads of the Sept. 11 Commission. The report says U.S. authorities failed to realize that Somali-American youths traveling from Minnesota to Mogadishu in 2008 to join extremists was not an isolated issue. Instead, the movement was one among several instances of a broader, more diverse threat that has surfaced across the country.”

The Christian Science Monitor: “In Kabul, parliamentary candidates have put up signs vowing retaliation against the US if Korans are burned and in at least two provinces, anti-American protesters have been shot outside NATO compounds. In one northeastern province, an Afghan National Army outpost was almost overrun and a protest in Kabul earlier this week included stone-throwing at US humvees . . . While it’s hard to see an isolated Quran burning in Florida driving many ethnic Tajiks or Uzbeks to the Taliban’s side, the history of Afghanistan is replete with examples of insults against Islam – real or imagined –- lighting the dry religious tinder that cuts across ethnic lines there. That’s a strategy the Taliban has pursued for decades.”

Associated Press: “Atheists in Oklahoma City have erected a billboard seeking fellow non-believers, and Satanists have scheduled a conference in a city-owned building, drawing criticism from ministers in a state where more than 8 out of 10 people say they are Christians.”

Law.com: “The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on Thursday about whether a New Hampshire statute that requires school districts to provide time for public elementary students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance on a voluntary basis is constitutional. The panel hearing Freedom From Religion Foundation v. U.S. focused largely on whether the ‘under God’ phrase is religious or a nod to the political philosophy holding that Americans have inalienable rights.”

Deborah O’Malley writing at The Heritage Foundation: “The assault against elected judges has entered a new and more dangerous phase: Millions of dollars are being poured into efforts to promote ‘merit’ selection of state judges, a system in which unelected, unaccountable experts and special interests recommend for appointment—and in some cases select—judges as a way to combat politicization. Yet merit selection does not remove politics from the judicial selection process; it merely drags politics out of the public spotlight, much to the advantage of liberal special interests—and to the detriment of public accountability. While not perfect, judicial elections are far more effective than ‘merit’ selection as a means of promoting judicial independence and public accountability.”

Reuters: “The murders of 25 people by suspected drug hitmen on the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday was the bloodiest day in almost three years in an area gripped by an escalating drug war, officials said on Friday.”

Christian Science Monitor: “American Muslims are stepping up public-relations efforts to counter what many observers see as a growing anti-Islam fervor. The campaigns are not coordinated. Rather, the renewed efforts reflect a sense across various Muslim communities that nearly a decade after 9/11, anti-Islam sentiment is a growing threat that must be taken seriously.”

Amir Taheri writing in The New York Post: Islam is a religion, not a culture. Each of the 57 Muslim-majority nations has its own distinct culture — and the Bengali culture has little in common with the Nigerian. Then, too, most of those countries have their own cultural offices in the US, especially in New York . . . In fact, the proposed structure is known in Islamic history as a rabat — literally a connector. The first rabat appeared at the time of the Prophet . . . After each ghazva ["raid"], the Prophet ordered the creation of a rabat — or a point of contact at the heart of the infidel territory raided. The rabat consisted of an area for prayer, a section for the raiders to eat and rest and facilities to train and prepare for future razzias.”

Adotas: “Rackspace Hosting, web host to a plethora of websites, including two sites run by Dove World Outreach Center (pastor Terry Jones’ church) has announced that both of those sites have been shut down . . . Having used the church’s websites to gain publicity for the event by using the domain name ‘Islam is of the Devil,’ Dan Goodgame, spokesman for Rackspace said the church violated the ‘hate speech’ provisions of its contract with the web host.”

LifeSiteNews: “Argentinean transvestites are objecting to new legislation proposed to create a third bathroom for their use in commercial establishments, according to local and international reports. The proposed law, advanced by councilwoman Gimena Abonassar of the city of San Martín, is intended to protect women from men who enter their bathrooms dressed as the opposite sex, an increasingly common occurrence in certain countries.”

Washington Post: “As the parties have squabbled, the number of “judicial vacancies” has more than doubled — from 20 at the beginning of the Obama administration to 49. Backlogs have grown, as have workloads for sitting judges and legal fees for litigants. Responsibility starts with the president. Judicial nominations have not been high on Mr. Obama’s to-do list . . . The president’s focus on his policy agenda helps to explain the lack of attention, but it is nevertheless perplexing because Mr. Obama is a former constitutional law professor who should appreciate the importance of the federal courts.”

San Francisco Chronicle: “A survey in the 1990 study said that only 59 percent of gay journalists were out in their newsrooms. By 2000, that number was higher than 90 percent . . . After peaking in 2006 with about 1,300 members, the NLGJA is down to 700 – shrinkage that is mirrored in other professional journalism organizations, union ranks and just about every other group that counts reporters and editors as members.”

Politico: “On a different issue, Barbour signaled how he might respond to questions about gay rights when he was asked about former RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman’s decision to disclose that he is gay. The governor recalled that he had worked alongside gays in his years in GOP politics — ‘no big deal to me,’ he said. But he noted that he, and an overwhelming majority of voters in his state, had voted to affirm traditional marriage. ‘Those two things are compatible with each other,’ he said. More broadly, Barbour suggested that fiscal issues were so resonant at the moment that there was little need to focus on cultural issues.”

Los Angeles Times: “Girding itself for its final battle, the video game industry will lay out its arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on why California’s ban on the sale or rental of violent video games to minors violates the developers’ free speech rights. The industry, expected to file its brief with the high court late Friday, seeks to overturn the state statute as it also takes on family advocates who argue that parents should be able to determine whether their children get exposed to violent media.”

The Advocate (Warning: may include ads promoting homosexual behavior): “Fearful that delaying action on ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ until after the midterms could potentially kill the measure for the year, repeal advocates are pushing Senate majority leader Harry Reid to schedule a Senate floor vote on the defense funding bill in September.”

LifeNews: “The new Planned Parenthood figures show it did 324,008 abortions in 2008 — a 6.1 percent increase over the 305,310 abortions it did in 2007 . . . While abortions are on the rise at Planned Parenthood, adoption referrals declined to just 2,405 — a 51 percent drop since 2007. Planned Parenthood now does 134 abortions for every adoption referral it makes.”

Matt Gurney writing at The National Post: “While it may be impolitic to say it, men who engage in sex with men are indeed a high-risk group for the transmission of HIV/AIDS, relative to society as a whole. That responsible, healthy gay men should be denied the chance to donate blood on this basis is certainly unfair and no doubt hurtful, but is still justified.”

Sydney Morning Herald: “Barnardos Australia, which has been at the forefront of child welfare for than 120 years, has embraced the legislation passed in the NSW Parliament allowing adoption by same-sex couples and will proceed with three adoptions in line with it . . . Anglicare and CatholicCare, being religious agencies, have an exemption under the act in which they can refuse adoptions by same-sex couples . . . There was a backlash yesterday from the religious right, in particular the Australian Family Association, which is campaigning against the legislation . . . The conservative upper house MP Fred Nile said he would attempt to repeal the legislation when he felt he had the support.”

OneNewsNow: “The U.S.-based Home School Legal Defense group fears a U.N. treaty is causing increasing problems for home schoolers in various countries. The latest example involves four families in Botswana who have been ordered to send their children to public school.”

OneNewsNow: “Imam Muhammad Musri said he was clear on Thursday when he told the Rev. Terry Jones that he could set up a meeting with planners of the New York City mosque, but insisted he never promised to shift the location. Jones announced after the meeting — with Musri at his side — that they had a bargain and that he would call off the Quran-burning for Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Later he accused Musri of lying and said the burning was only suspended, not canceled, leaving a question of whether he’d go through with it.”

Michelle Malkin writing at Townhall: “Pardon my national security-threatening impudence, but when is the ‘Muslim world’ not ready to ‘explode’? . . . When everything from sneakers to stuffed animals to comics to frescos to beauty queens to fast-food packaging to undies serves as dry tinder for Allah’s avengers, it’s a grand farce to feign concern about the recruitment effect of a few burnt Korans in the hands of a two-bit attention-seeker in Florida. The eternal flame of Muslim outrage was lit a long, long time ago.”

Linda Greenhouse writing at The New York Times / Opinionator: “Had [Justice O'Connor] anticipated that the chief justice would not serve out the next Supreme Court term, she told me after his death, she would have delayed her own retirement for a year rather than burden the court with two simultaneous vacancies . . . It’s easy to forget, for example, that John Roberts was an accidental chief justice . . . had Chief Justice Rehnquist learned of his dire prognosis a month sooner than he did, I think there is at least a fair chance that Sandra Day O’Connor would still be on the court.”

Politico: “Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will mark the ninth anniversary of 9/11 with a speech Friday in New York vowing to keep up the fight against terrorists and to ‘to enlist the nation in its own collective security.’”

Politico: “Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano will mark the ninth anniversary of 9/11 with a speech Friday in New York vowing to keep up the fight against terrorists and to ‘to enlist the nation in its own collective security.’”

M. Zuhdi Jasser writing in the Wall Street Journal, “Questions for Imam Rauf from an American Muslim” [full text via Google News]: “Imam Rauf and his supporters are clearly more interested in making a political statement in relation to Islam than in the mosque’s potential for causing community division and pain to those who lost loved ones on 9/11. That division is already bitterly obvious. As someone who has been involved in building mosques around the country, and who has dealt with his fair share of unjustified opposition, I ask of Imam Rauf and all his supporters, ‘Where is your sense of fairness and common decency?’”

USC Law: “USC Law is presenting the third annual ‘U.S. Supreme Court: A Preview,’ featuring distinguished legal scholars Kathleen Sullivan of Stanford Law School, John Eastman of Chapman Law School and Rebecca Brown of USC Gould School of Law . . . The panelists will discuss and debate the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court Term, which begins Oct. 4. They will look at the dynamics of the Court, the appointment of Justice Elena Kagan and the Court’s future.”

Samuel Gregg, Research Director at the Acton Institute, writing at Public Discourse: “[O]ne of the Great Recession’s unexpected benefits is the manner in which it has reignited a range of economic debates that have needed attention for some time. One is a widespread questioning of the methods and priorities of mainstream economic science. Another discussion concerns the conduct of monetary policy . . . Closely related to this are questions about the long-term viability of fiat money: the means of exchange that has dominated the world since the end of the gold standard . . . One [of the problems associated with fiat money] is the greater ease with which it permits governments to devalue currencies, thereby reducing the wealth of those with assets denominated in that currency . . . [It] facilitat[es] systemic moral hazard throughout entire economies . . . [and] it encourages the illusion that governments and central banks can somehow ‘manage’ multi-trillion dollar economies.”

Associated Press: “A new mosque recently opened in this well-to-do suburb of Philadelphia, but not many people noticed. That was fine with leaders of the Islamic Society of Greater Valley Forge. Amid a tense national climate for U.S. Muslims, they did not seek publicity for the happy occasion, only continued peace with their neighbors: a Jewish synagogue next door and Baptist church across the street.”

Associated Press: “A Democratic-backed political fund, a Minnesota gay rights organization and Democratic candidates will split a $150,000 donation as part of a push to elect gay marriage supporters in the state, after Target Corp. donated the same amount to a Republican-friendly group.”

The Hill: “The main health insurance lobby reacted strongly Thursday afternoon after the Obama administration called on health plans to stop ‘misinformation and scare tactics’ about the healthcare reform law . . . Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius warned: ‘I want AHIP’s members to be put on notice: the Administration, in partnership with states, will not tolerate unjustified rate hikes in the name of consumer protections.’”

Family Research Council: “[Family Research Council President Tony Perkins]: ‘It is hard to believe that a District Court level judge in California knows more about what impacts military readiness than the service chiefs who are all on the record saying the law on homosexuality in the military should not be changed. Once again, homosexual activists have found a judicial activist who will aid in the advancement of their agenda. This is a decision for Congress that should be based upon the input of the men and women who serve and those who lead them.’”

New York Post: “The NYPD has called up ‘an army of cops’ to handle rival protests expected to draw thousands to the site of the planned Ground Zero mosque on the anniversary of 9/11, sources said yesterday. ‘We want to keep everyone in their corners. You don’t want the opposing sides to clash,’ an NYPD official told The Post. ‘All eyes are going to be on New York City that day. No one wants to see a fight on Sept. 11.’”

NewsChannel5.com: “‘To the Muslim church I would say the reason I am doing on Saturday because I believe they worship a false god. They have a false text, a false prophet and a false scripture,’ said [Springfield Pastor Bob Old].”

The Christian Institute: “Britain’s sexualised society has caused two middle-class girls to become call girls and sell their bodies to football stars, a children’s author says. Bel Mooney, writing in the Daily Mail, attacked popular culture that promotes female promiscuity as ‘empowerment’ and perpetuates the ‘happy hooker’ myth. She also warned about the ‘pornification’ of teenage boys whose attitude to sex comes from viewing pornography on the internet.”

Associated Press: “Dr. Steven Brigham is accused of using a novel scheme to take advantage of disparities in state abortion laws. Since he wasn’t allowed to perform late-term abortions at his New Jersey office, documents show he led patients in a caravan to Elkton, Md., where the abortions were completed.”

BBC: “The court in Washington placed a temporary stay on an earlier decision by US District Judge Royce Lamberth . . . The legal action, which was also backed by Christian groups including the Alliance Defense Fund, is against the National Institutes of Health (NIH).”

Wall Street Journal Law Blog: “[Steven H. Aden], senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, criticized Thursday’s ruling. ‘The American people should not be forced to pay for even one more day of experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments and violate an existing federal law,’ Aden told the AP.”

The Chronicle of Higher Education: “The federal government can continue to finance embryonic-stem-cell research, temporarily, because a federal appeals court on Thursday lifted an injunction that had blocked such work. The move added to optimism about eventual victory for university scientists who use this research in a search for cures for a range of devastating diseases . . . Even before the appeals court reversed the judge’s ruling, advocates of embryonic-stem-cell research said they were growing confident of victory . . . In particular, Congress never voiced objections to a Bush policy that allowed research on a limited number of stem-cell lines, said lawyers on both sides of the case. [Mr. Aden], the plaintiffs’ lawyer, acknowledged he was unclear on how the judge would rule on that argument. ‘That’s a good question,’ said Mr. Aden, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund.”

Shannon Baker reports at Baptist Press: “College and seminary students interested in cultural issues from a biblical perspective have the opportunity to be involved in initiatives that impact millions of people through the Ethics & Religious Liberties Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention . . . Clifton Drake had just graduated from law school at Georgetown University when he decided to pursue an internship with the ERLC in 2008. Placed through a fellowship connected to the Alliance Defense Fund, Drake spent six weeks in the ERLC’s Washington office working on public policy issues of interest to Christians.”

Earned Media: “Advocates International (AI), part of the public interest legal team along with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher (GD&C) who brought the case before the court more than a year ago, announced this evening that their clients have now filed a comprehensive summary judgment motion in the federal district court, including evidentiary declarations by plaintiffs Dr. James Sherley and Theresa Deisher along with an attorney’s declaration providing the administrative record, asking Chief Judge Royce Lamberth based upon the undisputed evidence in the case to enter a final declaratory judgment declaring invalid the government’s controversial guidelines for public funding of embryonic stem cell research that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued on July 7, 2009 on the grounds that these guidelines violate federal law expressly barring such funding and were in any event improperly promulgated in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.”

Ken McIntyre writing at The Heritage Foundation / The Foundry: “When friends of religious liberty gathered today at Heritage, Tom McClusky, senior vice president of Family Research Council’s legislative action arm, FRC Action, presented one parade of potential horribles. Scanning McClusky’s ‘You’re So Lame’ list of 24 liberal goals, [Jordan Lorence], a senior counsel at the Alliance Defense Fund cracked: ‘It’s the legislative equivalent of the barroom scene in Star Wars.’ Indeed, what McClusky calls a ‘partial list‘ is a veritable cantina full of smugglers, bounty hunters, intrusive bureaucrats and space cadets set to run amok. It begins with more taxpayer-funded abortions and embryonic stem-cell research; promotion of same-sex marriage at the expense of traditional marriage; creating employment rights based on sexual orientation and ending the military’s ban on homosexuals serving openly.”

American Medical News: “The plaintiffs — which include the Christian Medical & Dental Assns., an adoption agency and others — are confident they will prevail, said [Steve Aden], senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, part of the plaintiffs’ legal team. The alliance takes on cases involving religious freedom. ‘We’re still looking forward to briefing the case and ultimately prevailing, because we think the law is clear,’ Aden said.”

Blog of LegalTimes: “Cliff Taylor, former chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, voiced his support for the system that removed him from office during a panel discussion today about merit selection and its power to reshape America’s state courts. Taylor and former campaign manager Colleen Pero addressed the gathering sponsored by the Heritage Foundation. They released a study underwritten by the American Justice Partnership, and written by Pero, asserting that billionaire George Soros has spent $45 million to ‘hand judicial selection over to small, unaccountable commissions comprised of legal elites.’”

Washington Post: “An appeals court Thursday allowed the federal government to resume funding human embryonic stem cell research while the court reviews whether it violates a ban by Congress on spending taxpayer money for experiments that are connected in any way with the destruction of human embryos . . . ‘The American people should not be forced to pay for even one more day of experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments and violate an existing federal law,’ said [Steven H. Aden], a lawyer at the Alliance Defense Fund, which filed the lawsuit.”

OneNewsNow: “Minneapolis has settled a lawsuit with a Christian psychologist after firing him because of his relationship with a pro-family group . . . Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) defended Campion, and attorney [Jim Campbell] contends that his client’s affiliation with the pro-family group should have nothing to do with his work for the city. ‘That is the exact point of this case. This settlement reinforces that the government shouldn’t penalize Christian contractors for their beliefs,’ he points out.”

OneNewsNow: An appeals court has overturned a lower court’s decision to halt federal funding of research on human embryos . . . ‘[It's] something the circuit court routinely does, and as the court itself said in the order, it does not signal any decision about the merits of the case either way,’ explains Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) attorney [Steven H. Aden].”

Telegraph: “France was told by the European Parliament in a rare move to stop its programme of forcibly sending Roma gipsies back to their home countries. In a resolution passed by 337 votes to 245, the European politicians requested that the French authorities to ‘immediately suspend all expulsions of Roma,’ saying that they ‘amounted to discrimination.’”

The Christian Institute: “[Stephen H. Aden], a lawyer at the Alliance Defense Fund, said: ‘The American people should not be forced to pay for even one more day of experiments that destroy human life, have produced no real-world treatments and violate an existing federal law’. He added: ‘The district court’s decision simply enforced that law, which prevents Americans from paying another penny for needless research on human embryos made irrelevant by adult stem cell and other research.’”

LifeNews.com: “With perhaps just days before the judge potentially issues a permanent injunction, Obama officials are scurrying to fund more research . . . [Steve Aden], an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, one of the pro-life legal groups involved in the lawsuit filed against the executive order, told LifeNews.com at the time that he questioned the legality of the NIH guidelines. ‘Federal grants incorporate federal law. To the extent that federal law has now been tentatively interpreted by a federal court to prohibit funding this research, I find the NIH’s position questionable,’ Aden said.”

LifeNews: “Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is facing a backlash from pro-life advocates after saying at a breakfast on Wednesday that pro-life advocates should ditch social issues this election cycle in favor of focusing on the economy . . . [Family Research Council president Tony Perkins] responded saying his experience in the political area is that politicians want to avoid issues with which they are not very comfortable . . . To prove his point, Perkins points to the recent Alaska Senate Republican primary race where pro-life candidate Joe Miller defeated Alaskan political legacy Sen. Lisa Murkowski.”

Wall Street Journal / New Europe: “Opposition to Poland’s possible adoption of the euro is growing in the country in reaction to the Greek public finance crisis, with 47% of Poles against the plan, according to the results of a survey conducted in June, Poland’s finance ministry said in a statement Thursday.”

Talk News Media: “An appeals court in Washington, D.C. today issued a hold on a U.S. District Judge’s ruling prohibiting the Obama administration from funding embryonic stem cell research . . . The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a Christian legal group, sued the Obama administration over the order, saying it promoted the destruction of human embryos and would force Americans to pay for ‘experiments.’”

“Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says President Barack Obama should speak as bluntly to the Islamists planning a mosque near the Sept. 11 attack site as he has to the minister threatening to burn the Quran.”

State Department (video of Hillary at the site): “Eid Mubarak! Since my husband, Bill Clinton, and I held the first Eid celebration at the White House in 1996, I have enjoyed marking Eid every year. I look forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones.”

Reuters: “Thousands of Afghans protested against the United States in the northeast on Friday, the largest demonstration since a small U.S. church said it planned to burn copies of the Koran, an Afghan official said.”

Wyoming News: “The founder of the Wyoming Tyranny Response Team plans to burn a copy of the Quran on the steps of the State Capitol on Saturday. Duncan Philp said he will protest the location of a proposed Islamic Center near Ground Zero in New York City. He also will protest President Barack Obama’s support for the location.”